The Battle Scooter

With the imminent release of German Vehicles of World War II and the forthcoming Mercenary Second Edition, it seems like the perfect time to do this, the Battle Scooter. This is a real world vehicle used by the French in the 50’s (though I oh so wanted it to be true that the French Resistance used them during the Second World War!), and it is just brilliant. A scooter with a bazooka. Just doesn’t get better than that. This scooter looks really great that some manufacturers even produced electric versions of this look. Check out ScooterAdviser‘s review on it.

In terms of Traveller, this is a very cheap vehicle with which to equip mercenary forces – and given how expensive mercenary forces can be to run (as you will soon see in the new book), a low-priced attack vehicle is just the ticket. Its handy size also means it will not take up much room in the cargo bay of a scout or trader who needs an escort for the ATV…

And yes, we are choosing to ignore the fact that, in real life, the recoilless rifle was removed from the scooter before shooting. We want your characters to be bombing round the combat zone, letting rip with these rounds!

Battle Scooter

Designed by the French after the Second World War, a scooter (a Vespa 150 TAP) was married to a three inch recoilless rifle capable of destroying light armoured vehicles. It was used by airborne troops who could be dropped into a combat zone and have not only immediate mobility but could also engage enemy vehicles. The battle scooter also had the advantage of being very cheap.

Vehicle

TL

Skill

Agility

Speed

Range

Crew/ Passengers

Cargo

Open

Hull

Structure

Cost (Cr)

Shipping size

Battle Scooter

5

Drive (wheeled)

+1

70

100

1/1

–

Yes

1

1

4,860

1

Armour

Front

0

Right

0

Left

0

Rear

0

Top

0

Bottom

0

Weapons

Weapon

Location

Damage

Range

Auto

Ammo

Recoilless Rifle

Fixed Forward

7D AP7

7D HE

Long

No

6

Other Equipment/Modifications: Decreased Range, Decreased Speed

Weapon

TL

Cost (Cr)

Damage

Auto

Spaces

Range

Ammo/Space

Recoilless Rifle

5

500

7D AP7

7D HE

No

1

Long

3

Recoilless Rifle: The forerunner of the RPG, the recoilless rifle is typically mounted on vehicles or used upon a tripod to defeat enemy armour. It comes with a choice of AP or HE rounds.